The Ultimate Dog Vocabulary Quiz

How much do dogs understand? Do they have vocabulary comprehension and retention? Can they say "Woof!" and mean it? Take this quiz and learn more about whether dogs understand words.

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Question 1 of 10

According to psychologist Stanley Coren, how many words does a trained dog know?

about 60

about 100

about 160

He believes that trained dogs know about 160 words. That's more than the average three-year-old kid!

Question 2 of 10

When did researchers successfully train chimpanzees to use sign language?

in the 1950s

in the 1970s

They did this in the 1970s when they trained chimps to use and read sign language.

in the 1990s

Question 3 of 10

Which animal can be trained to speak human words?

the parrot

The parrot, of course! Polly want a cracker?

the dog

the monkey

Question 4 of 10

In a certain study, Rico, a border collie, displayed his knowledge of 200 words. How did researchers test whether he could expand his vocabulary?

They repeated word after word until Rico showed he understood them.

They gave him a new word list and got him to bark when he understood them.

They introduced new items and words and Rico caught on 70 percent of the time.

They introduced new items with their corresponding names and had Rico fetch the items. Rico caught on 70 percent of the time.

Question 5 of 10

Remembering words after exposure to them for one time only is called:

good luck

fast-mapping

It's called fast-mapping and it applies to humans as well. Children do this often in their language acquisition.

brain train

Question 6 of 10

In the 1900s, a horse named Clever Hans appeared to be able to do math. Upon investigation, what did they discover about Clever Hans?

He had an IQ of 180.

He was a fraud.

He was just responding to subtle, unconscious cues.

The horse, it seems, was just responding to subtle, unconscious cues from people. He couldn't do math at all!

Question 7 of 10

How does language acquisition begin?

The learner associates sounds with items or concepts.

The learner, whether human or animal, associates sounds with items or concepts. "Bottle" is a sound the baby hears, which he associates with the drink he loves. Similarly, "No!" is a sound he hears, which he associates with something forbidden.